Ebb and Flow

Ebb & Flow

These Roofs Last a Lawn Time Japan - With summer temperatures rising, cities like Tokyo and Fukuoka
have found a cheap, natural way to beat back the swelter of urban "heat
islands." This year, the Urban Development Corporation (UDC) began
"greening" Tokyo's rooftops with 2.3 hectares of grass. The UDC has
found that adding a six-inch layer of soil, water-absorbing perlite and
grass to the tops of city buildings, high-rises and parking garages can
cut the heat of a concrete structure by 37 C (99 F). The installation
of rooftop grass offer a cheap alternative to installing 2,500 air
conditioners. Korean velvetgrass and lilyturf require little irrigation
and need only be weeded twice a year. Look Japan reports that these turf roofs are "providing insulation and improving
the energy efficiency of buildings [while] restoring nature in an urban
setting."

Something Fishy China - Singapore National University biologists have created
transgenic zebra fish that flash fluorescent red and green when exposed
to toxic chemicals. Project leader Zhiyuan Gong boasts that
"biomonitoring fish" are the perfect tool "to monitor aquatic
environment and water quality." On the other fin, Richard Winn of the
Aquatic Biotechnology and Environmental Lab at the University of
Georgia worries that the consequences of releasing transgenic fish into
the environment "could range from inconsequential to localized
extinction of native species." Since zebra fish rely on color as a
"mate-attraction strategy," these flashy man-made creatures might have
an edge over nature's originals.

Corps Demand Right to Vote Canada - In early March, the British Columbia town of Lake Cowichan
petitioned the BC government to amend the Local Government Act to allow
corporations to vote in municipal elections. "The resolution threatens
fundamental democratic principles and... would make a mockery of BC's
democratic process," declared Gil Yaron, a lawyer and boardmember of
BC's Aurora Institute [123 Main St., Vancouver, BC, Canada V6A 2SS, (604) 669-5199, www.aurora.ca].
"In an era where corporations have already corrupted the democratic
processes... through lobbying and campaign financing, we need less, not
more corporate involvement in our electoral system." On March 10, the
proposal was massively rejected. "Had this resolution passed," Yaron
observed, Canada "would have been the only democratic nation where
inanimate entities could legally vote."

Tree-free Paper. A Staple Item? US - Staples Inc., the $11-billion office-supply giant, will honor
Earth Day (April 22) by stocking its shelves with Vanguard Living Tree
printer and copier paper made from hemp, flax and post-consumer waste.
Although it is only 10 percent tree-free, Living Tree President Carolyn
Moran can still proudly claim that "No new trees went into this paper."
ForestEthics' Paper Campaign Director Todd Paglia calls Staples'
gesture "corporate greenwash" since more than 90 percent of Staples'
paper is still made from trees.

Utah's Guv Goes for the Copper US - The Winter Olympics had three mascots - a rabbit, a bear and a
coyote. The Salt Lake City Organizing Committee's (SLOC) favorite was
Copper the Coyote, whose "coyote charisma... makes him the media
darling of the mascot trio." Tell that to Utah Governor Mike Leavitt,
whose administration promotes coyote hunts with cash prizes awarded to
hunters who show up with the most coyote tails. Nine of the state's 29
counties offer coyote bounties, paying out $20 for a pair of ears.

A Climate 'Threshhold' Looms US - In 2001, the UN Intergovernmental Panel of Climate Change (IPCC)
predicted that Earth's average surface temperature would gradually rise
by as much as 10 F during this century - a shift larger than any seen
in the past 10,000 years. The IPCC's forecast may have been too
conservative. This past winter, global temperatures increased 4.3 F -
the largest jump in recorded history. The National Academy of Sciences
(NAS) now cautions that the theory of a gradual temperature rise may
prove false. Instead, a dramatically "abrupt" shift in climate could be
triggered within a matter of years, causing mass extinctions of plant
and animal life. At the end of the Younger-Dryas interval, some 11,500
years ago, NAS notes, "global climate shifted dramatically... over a
few years." With CO2 emissions expected to double over the next
century, the world could be edging toward an irreversible "threshold
event" that could plunge the climate into chaos. Writing in the London Guardian,
US author Jeremy Rifkin notes that sudden climate change could occur
"within less than 10 years - as has happened many times before in
geological history." If the US continues to refuse to act on global
warming, Rifkin notes, "we may already have written our epitaph."

A Really Attractive Cooler US - Someday soon, instead of putting magnets on your refrigerator, you may be putting magnets inside your refrigerator. Researchers at the Department of Energy's Ames
Laboratory in Iowa have teamed with the Astronautics Technology Center
in Wisconsin to create a magnetic refrigeration unit. By moving packets
of powdered gadolinium through the field of a permanent magnet, the
scientists have been able to chill refrigerators at room temperatures.
Science News predicts that "magnetic refrigerators and air conditioners
promise to be more efficient than conventional ones."

Is That a Chip in your Shoulder? US - Applied Digital Solutions, Inc. (ADS) has invented an
"identification chip" the size of a dime that can be implanted in the
human body "to save lives, enhance personal security and improve
quality of life." The VeriChip's(tm) personal ID number can be
activated by "an external scanner" that can read and transmit the
stored data via phone lines or satellite links to a "secure
data-storage site." While ADS promotes the VeriChip as a medical device
comparable to "pacemakers [and] artificial joints," the company admits
that VeriChips could be a veritable goldmine in the "rapidly evolving
marketplace" of biometric surveillance. Unlike "fingerprints,
voiceprints, retina characteristics and face recognition," an ADS
document states, the VeriChip relies on "embedded, tamper-proof,
microchip technology, which allows for non-invasive access to
identification." Installing a VeriChip is a simple matter that
"requires only local anesthesia, a tiny incision and perhaps a small
adhesive bandage."

The Last Winter Olympics? US - The organizers of the Winter Olympics are taking bids for the 2010
games but have they taken global warming into account? The World
Resources Institute (WRI) warns that Earth's rising temperatures mean
there will be "less snow and shorter and warmer winters." There may be
enough snow for the 2006 games in Turin, Italy but (unless Iceland
submits a bid) future games may be in doubt. WRI notes that Montana's
Glacier National Park "will have no glaciers by 2030.